MARCHing orders for your State Representative: DON’T RETREAT at the retreat!

At the end of the First Called Special Session of the 85th Texas Legislature, 83 of the 94 Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives attended a meeting of the House Republican caucus. The meeting was scheduled in response to a growing demand for transparency on the way the speaker of the Texas House is elected by the other members of the House.

Due to the obstructionist tactics and the public revulsion to passing needed conservative reforms by House leadership, forty-eight counties have recently passed resolutions of “no confidence” in the speakership of Joe Straus (R-San Antonio). Straus and his intransigent committee chairs have inspired this growing exasperation in grassroots activists and concerned voters across the state, forcing local political parties to denounce the speaker in hopes that local representatives who serve in the Texas House will push for a new speaker who favors their values. The current speaker was elected in 2009 by a combination of all Democrats in the Texas House (75 in 2009) plus 11 Republicans, and he wins re-election by cobbling together the same bedfellows.

Straus’ speakership has placed roadblocks in the path of substantial Pro-Life legislation for years, prompting two governors calling special sessions of the Texas Legislature to compel the lower chamber’s action on life-saving measures. Failure to lead is not restricted to the Life issues; however, Straus and his henchmen have turned their backs on taxpayers and voters on other issues set forth in the platform of the Republican Party, such as property tax reforms, election integrity, defense of marriage and families, parental rights, and many other issues.

Thus, the list of county GOP clubs* calling for their representatives to oust Straus grows with each week. The retreat for the Republicans in the Texas House, where they all gather to discuss who-knows-what, is set for September 22nd and 23rd. During this time, the Republican House members will allegedly debate and decide procedures for electing a speaker free from Democrat and lobbying influence.

House members must not retreat. Voters across the state have arrived at their local GOPs, condemning the status quo in the Texas House of Representatives. Any representative who refuses to untangle the Republican nominee from liberal influence will have to answer to his or her constituents at the ballot box.

What can you do? Call or email the district offices of your local state representative and ask if he or she plans to attend the retreat. Inform your state representative that you, as a constituent, expect him or her to deliver results from the retreat that will yield a new speaker—a new conservative speaker who will govern with fairness and transparency. Send your representative to the retreat with clear MARCHing orders, and let him or her know that your support in the upcoming March 2018 primary election depends on his or her commitment to new leadership. Don’t let your Republican representative retreat at the retreat.